Kingdom Hearts III: The End of the Worlds
by Flamberge
Summary: Fin.
1. Prologue

Worlds

World of the fairies (Artemis Fowl)

The Clan Forest (Warriors)

Suburbia Camelot (Over the Hedge)

Free Country (Homestar Runner)

Narnia (The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe)

Ant Island (a bug's life)

Land of liberty (National Treasure)

Serenity (Serenity)

Prologue

Explosions were not at all commonplace in Radiant Garden. Especially not ones that sank the world's resident castle underground. The funny thing is, wherever Sora was, things were rarely normal, especially if his best friends were with him.

So when the castle exploded and sank into the ground on the day of the saviors return to Radiant Garden, needless to say, people stopped celebrating and mass pandemonium broke out. Everyone was so scared that, wouldn't you know it, two armored figures escaped entirely.

In the middle of this, Sora, Kairi and Riku stood at the head of the procession, bewildered. They were even more dumbfounded when they were swallowed up by the black portal that appeared above their heads.

They arrived on yet another of those stained glass pillars. This one was the size of two football fields squashed together. Sora, Kairi and Riku were standing among approximately 300 ragtag soldiers. The only weird thing was that the soldiers were unarmed and 2,000 heartless were headed towards them. It hardly looked to be a fair fight. Suddenly, all of the 300 soldiers whipped out keyblades and started to kill loads of heartless. Soon, all of the heartless were dead, and victory achieved. Suddenly the expressions of victory turned to utter fear as four armored figures appeared on the horizon. Three of them ran forward, keyblades in their hands. The keyblade wielders on the battlefield fell, until one remained, besides Sora, Riku and Kairi. The armored figures each tried to land a killing blow on the young warrior, but none managed. Suddenly a bright white glow enveloped the warrior and bright white armor suddenly covered him. His armor contrasted with the black armor of the other fighters. The other three were, in fact, retreating. The white-armored man summoned up Sora's keyblade and charged. He slashed and stabbed each until they were mangled piles of broken metal. The White Knight then charged at the final dark warrior. When the keyblade came down, however, the dark warrior flicked it away with his hand. The White Knight visibly recoiled.

"You know you can't defeat me, boy." The dark figure sneered.

"Maybe not," the White Knight said, "But I can stop you and your Chasers for a while."

"I'd like to see that." The Black Knight said.

"As you wish," the White Knight's keyblade started to glow, "Demon, I hereby banish you to the confines of the prison world of Kingdom Hearts. By your true identity I perform this deed." The White Knight paused.

"Ha. You expect to banish me when you don't even know my name? How-"

The White Knight tore off the Black Knight's helmet revealing a familiar face, "Riku."

The spitting image of Riku stayed calm, "And on the end of who's sentence do I find myself?" Riku asked.

The White Knight pulled off his mask, revealing another familiar face, "An old friend."

The battlefield vanished in a white flash, and Sora, Kairi and Riku woke up in the hold of a gummy ship.


	2. Chapter 1: Serenity

Chapter 1: Serenity

SORA POV

Sora bolted upright in the middle of a cargo hold in some oddly designed ship. Metal crates of various sizes lined the walls. A system of metal catwalks was built high above. Kairi and Riku were next to him, still asleep. _What happened? First we were on the float and now we're here… wherever the heck here is. I feel like I'm in some bad sci-fi movie… _he thought.

Next to Sora, Riku and Kairi slowly woke up. "Where the flip are we now!" Riku yelled.

"You're on my boat, kid." A voice said from the doorway. A man in a brown trench coat walked out. He had a stern expression.

"Gwah! Who're you?" Riku exclaimed, falling back.

"Captain Malcolm Reynolds. I'm the captain of this ship. You've been chartered on by some guy named Leon. As passengers you have free roam of you quarters, the mess hall, and the hallway, do I make myself clear?" he said. "Now, I'm needed on the bridge, so… I'll take my leave." He walked out, closing the door behind him.

Sora crawled over to one of the crates and opened it up. The entire crate was full of loaded weapons. Sora picked up a pistol and balanced it on the palm of his hand. It was really light for a weapon, and Sora figured it wasn't loaded, so he pulled the trigger on the wall. A laser bullet flew out, scorching a circle in the metal. Sora's eyes widened, and he stared at the smoking barrel. "Yipes!"

"'Yipes' is right, Sora! You nearly friggin' shot me!" Riku yelled, standing up.

Sora and Kairi snickered, "Watch your mouth, Riku." Kairi said before losing control and bursting out into laughter.

"And your hair!" Sora blurted out.

Riku looked at his reflection in the metal wall and sure enough, a fairly large chunk of his hair had been burned off. "Gwah! SORA!" Riku proceeded to chase a laughing Sora around the cargo bay while Kairi laughed even harder. They stopped dead as a transmission from the captain came over the loudspeakers.

"This is your captain speaking, we're going to experience some slight turbulence and then… explode." The loudspeaker blared. Soon after the ship started to shake. Sora, Kairi and Riku had to hang on to something so they didn't go flying.

In the end, they managed to land safe and sound in the middle of the desert. The doors opened and what Sora assumed was the crew walked in.

"I don't remember picking up any hitchhikers!" one yelled. He was large and muscular, and he was armed to the teeth.

"Jayne, cool it. They're passengers." The captain said, restraining the large man.

Jayne looked back at the captain, "Yeah, sure Mal. Well, those passengers shot a hole in the wall!" he yelled, pointing at the laser burn.

"They did what?" Mal said, looking towards the wall.

"I think it's about time someone harmed your precious 'boat.'" Another crew member said. He was dressed smartly in a fine suit with the cleanest-cut hair out of the whole group.

"Doc, I think it would do you good to be reminded that you are also a passenger on my boat, and as such, you don't have the right to talk like that." Mal said.

"May I remind _you_ that I've spent over a year treating wounds on this ship," He walked over to Sora, "Thank you very much for knocking some sense into him. I'm Simon."

Sora shook Simon's hand, "Sora." Suddenly, Sora collapsed in pain. Simon pulled the boy's clutching hands away from a deep, bleeding gash.

"He's hurt pretty bad. I'll need a bandage and… a shot of glucose… quickly!" Simon yelled, and a seventeen-year-old girl tossed two odd-looking devices over, a needle and what looked like a hot-glue gun. Simon sprayed white foam onto the wound and injected the clear fluid from the syringe.

"So, what's up?" Riku asked, tearing his eyes away from watching some random guy inject mysterious goop into Sora.

"We've got a job here, and we're takin' all three of ye." Jayne said, loading up a machine gun.

"Even Sora?" Kairi asked.

"Well, how else are you supposed to earn your passage? Unless you've been trained as a dang good entertainer…" Mal said. Sora jumped to his feet and pointed a pistol between the captain's eyes.

"Never accuse Kairi of being a stripper; do I make myself perfectly clear?" Sora said, anger burning in his eyes.

"Crystal. But may I remind you, lover boy that I am the captain and as captain…" Mal started, but Sora tapped him between the eyes with his gun.

"Captain or not, I'm not afraid to kill you for an insult like that." Sora said.

"I… take it back?" Mal said, putting his hands up.

Sora lowered his pistol, "What exactly is this job?"

"We've been hired to… acquire various items of value from a… establishment." Mal said slowly.

"You're nothing more than common thieves! Who put us on this ship, anyway?" Sora moaned, knocking his head against a wall.

"Some midget in a mouse costume with really big ears." Jayne said, not looking up from loading his fourth weapon.

"King Mickey? But… why would he arrange for us to travel with thieves?" Sora asked himself, hitting his head against the wall yet again.

"If it make you feel any better, most of our jobs are salvaging and taking things that people've had stolen from them." Mal put in.

"Fine. Riku and I come, Kairi stays. And that's final." Sora said, pulling himself together.

"Alright." Mal said.

"Sora stays as well. His wound needs to recover." Simon said.

"Fine. Just don't put them in the same room alone. Ugh." Mal said, getting onto the hovercraft.

"Can we just get on with it?" Jayne asked.

A/N: Flamberge: And that, dear readers, is the first chapter. Oh, I don't own KH (If you can't figure out what that stands for, I feel sorry for you. :P)


	3. Chapter 2: The JobStrange Happenings

Chapter 2: The Job

RIKU POV

Riku slumped in his seat. This was not turning out to be a good day. The captain guy… Mel or something… had decided to head in at low speed. Here they all were, on a hovercraft that could probably go way freaking faster, but no… and he was sitting next to the guy with _seven_ machine guns. And guess what… the guy wasn't carrying supplies for everyone else!

"Where're the grenades?" Riku asked him, bored.

"Captain said I couldn't bring 'em." Jayne replied. Usually, Riku would've cracked a joke about how much this guy's name sounded like a girl's name, but the barrels of the guns on Jayne's belt reminded Riku to keep his mouth shut… and start annoying the passengers with less ammunition on their person.

"Can't this thing go any faster? A sweet hovercraft like this should be able to go at least a hundred, if not more." Riku complained.

"The captain grinned, "You want fast, do you? I'll give you fast," he speeded up the craft to 120 miles per hour and aimed for a boulder. "Hang on!" Mal yelled as they sped towards the rock. Riku gasped and reflexively hit the floor as the hovercraft easily broke through the boulder and Mal slowed it down to the speed that they had been traveling at before.

"What the heck was that?" Riku yelled, springing up.

"That was the captain's way of telling you to shut up!" Jayne said, grinning.

On the Serenity

SORA POV

Sora was snoozing in the bed that had been loaned to him on the Serenity. His dreams consisted mainly of garbled images, some familiar, some not so much. Some of the more common images starred the Black and White Knights from the vision he had had. Others showed random people, from great leaders to poor beggars. Even others showed Sora and others fighting off Heartless and Nobodies. In any of these odd dreams, the final image before Sora awoke was a large lion at the crest of a hill with a great battle playing out below him.

Sora awoke sweating from yet another confusing dream. When his eyes adjusted to the bright light surrounding him, Sora stood up in confusion. All in all, he was pretty sure that no light on that run-down thief's nest could've possibly shone any brighter than Pete's brain. Sure enough, he was not on the Serenity, but standing on a small platform in the middle of the biggest white emptiness Sora had ever seen. The platform was a large square, approximately twenty feet long on each side. Small white balls of light floated around. Whenever one got close to Sora, it gave out a shrill whistle and zipped away. He reached out and grabbed one before it could zip away, intending to inspect it. When Sora pulled it in close, it burrowed into his hand. Sora fell to his knees, biting his lip against the fiery pain coursing through every fiber of his being.

That was when Sora really woke up in his dingy bunk in the ship. He dropped out of bed onto the floor, landing perfectly on his feet. He opened the door and sprinted to the mess hall, where he proceeded to raid the fridge as he had done many times before his crazy quests began.

He heard Kairi enter behind him, and didn't turn around until he heard he summon her keyblade. When he turned, he saw Kairi in her battle stance, keyblade at the ready.

"Uh, Kairi, what's up with the keyblade? Could you… put that away, it makes me nervous." Sora asked nervously.

"Who are you, and where's Sora?" She asked, moving forward.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Sora asked, "It's not funny."

"One can hardly expect me to be funny when I see someone I don't know exit my friend's room. Who are you, and where's Sora?"

Sora put on a fake high voice, "Kairi, Sora's right in front of you."

"Monster!" She yelled, and charged at him. Sora reflexively summoned his Keyblade and blocked her flurry of attacks.

"What the heck's gotten into you, Kairi? I'm Sora! Just Sora!" Sora yelled.

"Yeah?" she stopped her barrage of blows, "Look into that mirror, tell me if the _real Sora_ is looking back at you! Go on, I've got all day!"

"Alright, Kairi, but this is stupid. I look like Sor- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he yelled. Looking back at him was him, but changed. His hair was shoulder-length with silver colored tips. His left ear was also pierced, but that wasn't what disturbed him most.

His eyes were glowing gold.

In the Town

RIKU POV

The group had reached the building they were to ransack. Everyone was loading weapons except for Riku, who summoned his Keyblade.

"What is that, some key-sword-gun? I ain't ever heard of those. Don't think it'll make much of an impression on trained soldiers, though, no way." Jayne said to Riku. Riku just grinned.

"Firagun!" Riku yelled, sending a fire bullet at Jayne. Jayne dodged it, an amazed expression on his face.

"I need to get me one of those when we're done here." Jayne whispered in awe.

The holdup went well, as the held up were cooperative enough. Mal and Jayne went into the underground vault, leaving the others, including Riku, on guard. Suddenly that girl… River, was it? Fell to the floor, yelling the most random word ever in a situation like this.

"Reavers!" she yelled. Riku didn't expect anyone to react, but they all sprung into action, loading extra bullets and checking their body armor. Mal ran up out of the vault and they all zipped right out the door into the hovercraft. Riku followed the crowd, and saw the Reavers as he exited the door.

A small army of warriors with primal weapons had descended upon the community. They dragged innocent villagers to the ground and… Riku couldn't stand to see any more.

As the group sped away on the hovercraft, a Reaver ship followed them.

A/N: Flamberge: There's the second chapter, everyone! Please drop a review if you read it!


	4. Chapter 3: Escape

Chapter 3: Escape

Racing Out of Town

RIKU POV

Things were looking grim. Riku was yet again squished between the psycho gunner and the crazy married woman and they were racing away from cannibalistic murderers. This day just kept getting better. On the bright side, they were going fast and not crashing into a boulder this time, though Riku was pretty sure they would end up doing that in the end. To make things even better, the Reaver ship was following and gaining. Riku was now pretty sure that, no matter how cool the hovercraft was, it wasn't meant to go fast. They were bouncing with every bump in the ground… in the air.

"Gee, it sure would be great if we had some grenades right about now!" Jayne yelled. No one responded.

"I agree," Riku said, unsure of their reaction. Unfortunately, their reaction was a knuckle sandwich from Jayne. Needless to say, Riku's head hurt like heck in the end… and his neck… and his upper chest… he'd make sure to keep away from Jayne from now on… and Mal… and the two resident females… and the doctor guy…

"Cute kid! But in all honesty, you ain't gonna be with us too long. We were hired to take you to a planet not far from here, collect payment, and be on our merry way, but I'd like to see more of you." Jayne said.

"Wow Jayne, I think that was one of the longest sentences you've come up with in a while!" Mal said, grinning.

Riku looked back and saw the Reaver ship closing in, "Does anyone else see the big, black beelike thing closing in on us?" he yelled.

"Reaver ship! Speed up!" Mal yelled, pushing the throttle. The married woman started taking into her microphone and Jayne started firing at the Reavers. The cannibals released harpoons. The second one stabbed through Jayne's leg and pulled him off. He grabbed onto the back handlebar of the hovercraft, suspended in air and being tugged in two different directions at the same time.

"If they take me, you shoot me!" Jayne yelled to Mal. Mal didn't speak; he just aimed his pistol at Jayne, "Well don't shoot me first!" Jayne added. Mall shot twice. The first bullet missed, but the next bullet hit its mark… the cable attached to the Reaver harpoon. Jayne climbed back on and, sure enough, they crashed through another boulder. This time, the shards of the rock flew into the engines of the Reaver cruiser, causing the insides of them to explode. It trailed down a parallel canyon and the hovercraft went faster. Suddenly the Reaver ship appeared right in front of them. As they neared their end, the Serenity flew in front, and they harshly skidded safely into its bay. Luckily, they were safe, but the nose of the Reaver ship got in as well. Its momentum carried it to Jayne's legs, but it stopped there. Everyone pulled themselves up to their feet, and the odd, grease-stained engine girl decided to go to the unharmed doctor's aid. Riku wondered what the heck was up with her.

After the shaky job, everything continued smoothly, Sora was able to convince everyone of what had happened to him, including Kairi. Riku was able to yell at Jayne and Mal for two hours asking what all those Reavers were, and the crew continued towards the drop-off point for Sora, Kairi and Riku.

SORA POV

"So, who is this guy picking us up?" Sora asked Mal as they descended on the barren desert world where they would be dropped.

"His name is… Rick O'Connell. And don't worry; he's in a town, not the middle of the landscape. I was assured many times by that mouse." Mal replied, "He's actually an old friend of mine… Haven't seen him in years."

"Is he a thief like you?" Sora asked.

"More or less… he's gone straight now… off on an archeology dig or something. Something about a city of dead people…" Mal replied.

Sora laughed nervously, "Like, a city full of dead people, or a city belonging to the dead?"

"Why does it matter? Dead is dead, corpses are corpses, right?" Mal replied, grinning.

"Sure, whatever you say, cap'n! He he…" Sora replied.

"You're afraid of dead people, aren't you?" Mal asked.

"Just rotting ones, thank you." Sora replied, running off.

In twenty minutes, they made a relatively smooth landing into town… right on top of someone's house. Sora, Kairi and Riku got out with directions to Rick's hotel in hand. The Serenity flew off immediately, zipping into space. The owners of the destroyed house chose that moment to return. Kairi, Sora and Riku had to deal with them. It took twenty minutes, and now they had given their money to the angry couple who owned the house, so they had to walk.

After a few minutes of walking, the sky started to cloud over. "This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Riku asked.

When fireballs started falling out of the sky, they figured they were in trouble.


	5. Chapter 3X: The Grand Meeting of Evil 1

Chapter 3X: The Grand Meeting of evil #1

The secret meeting room in the Realm of Darkness was, like many evil meeting rooms, dark, sinister, and had organ music playing in it all the time. It had once been called the Radiant Garden castle meeting room, but Maleficent fell, oh… a few months ago, so she didn't care too much.

The many chairs of the room were full of sinister figures, from the big to the small to the rotting. A big, sinister mechanical door had been built into one of the walls, and it now opened.

"It's been a pleasure opening for you." The door said. The ominously masked figure that had just emerged from it twitched slightly, and then regained his posture.

"You know why you've been called here. You will serve me, and in doing so, serve yourselves, is this correct?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" the various villains around the table yelled unenthusiastically.

"You are to finish off Sora, a young boy from Destiny Islands. He has the Keyblade, and you must get rid of him. Is that a simple enough concept for your tiny brains to grasp?" the masked figure asked.

"If it will bring more souls to my ship, I will gladly do it!" A tentacled sailor yelled.

"Provide me with a way to Treasure Planet, and my service's yours!" A fat cyborg yelled.

"On behalf of the Vogons, I accept your desperate cry for help." A blubbery creature from the back corner yelled.

"If the parliament sent me, they must've had a good reason." A man in a blue outfit with a sword said.

"Just lead me to wherever Cloud's slipped off to." A silver-haired man with one wing and a very long sword agreed.

"You ain't no Maleficent, but… I needs the money… I'm in!" An extremely fat dog said, rolling up his sleeves.

"When I am fully resurrected I will no longer need you, but… I will do my best until then." A black-cloaked man with a blue mask said.

"I will take over all computers, and if you will assist me… very well." A red glass column with a face put in.

"Just as long as I get paid." A blond-haired man with a British accent said.

"This cage is really degrading." A grasshopper covered in scars said.

"I've go to get RJ, then I'll take care of this Sora guy." A large black bear said.

"You've got quite the motley crew this time." A man in a large red hat said.

"You have no idea…" the masked leader mumbled.

"So, who is it that we have the pleasure of serving?" another voice but in. this villain hadn't been invited, and making himself known was a mistake on his part. A female in black armor appeared from the shadows and put a knife to his throat. The masked man motioned for her to leave the man alone.

"You're completely right. How is a villain to play with his enemies if they don't know who the villain _is_?" he said, and took off his mask.

"YOU!" The uninvited guest yelled, and was restrained by two male black-armored figures.

The villain put his mask back on, "Just call me… Villain…" he said, grinning. As he left, he passed the still-angry guest, "How'd you like that, Xehanort?" Villain said, grinning.


	6. Chapter 4: I Want My Mummy!

Chapter 4: I Want My Mummy!

Sora groaned, "I solemnly swear to never again cast another firaga spell for selfish personal…"

"Shut up and run!" Riku yelled, nimbly dodging another fireball. And so they ran. People were dying around them and the three kids who were known for saving everyone's hides _twice_ were letting them die.

Somewhere in the middle of the street they ran into an odd-looking character. He had four pistols on his belt and two rifles.

"Not another one!" Riku yelled.

"Whadda you mean?" the man yelled.

"You're just like that Jayne guy, toting more weapons around than he can use, your grammar is probably really bad and you've got really bad hair!" Riku moaned.

"Wait, you know Jayne? Oh, you must be Sora, Kairi and whatshisname, pleasure to meet you!" he yelled over the noise of the falling fireballs.

"Where're you dropping up off?" Sora asked.

"I'm not." Rick stated.

"And why not?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, I sort of…" he began.

"We unleashed an ancient evil creature." A woman finished.

"I'd love to hear this story." Sora remarked.

"Well then, we'll get you somewhere safe where you can." The woman replied.

"We'll start at the beginning. Kronk, six colas!" Rick yelled. In response, a large, muscular man came out of the small kitchen area of the museum employee lounge.

"D'you want Kronk Cola, Diet Kronk Cola, Dr. Kronk, Kronk-up, Cherry Kronk Cola, Black Cherry Vanilla Kronk Cola, Kronk Cola with Lemon, or maybe…" Kronk put out the respective bottles of drinks as he said each name until Rick interrupted him.

"Coke will be fine, Kronk." Rick said, and began his story, "Years ago," he began, "I fought in a war here. One of the battles was in the city of Hamonaptra, the City of the Dead. I was later… arrested and she saved me because I'm such a handsome, modest,"

"Person who knows where the sacred city of Hamonaptra is." Evee, the woman added.

"Right. Anyway, she saved me and we headed into the desert on a boat with an old friend of mine. He was leading a group of filthy tourists to Hamonaptra as well. We got there and found this wacky Book of the Dead. Evee decided it would be fine and dandy to read from it, so she does…" Kronk brought the Cola out at this point with a somber expression on his face, "And that's about when all heck broke loose. The tourist and one of the Egyptologists opened the chest with the Book in is, and so they're the ones being hunted by Imhotep, this wacko mummy that we brought back to life."

"So, what you're saying is that you brought someone back from the dead?" Sora asked suspiciously.

"I know, I know. All that 'Impossible to bring people back to life' crap you get taught in Biology. I was skeptical at first, too. Then I saw the mummy guy… But that's beside the point! Imhotep followed us back here and started sucking the tourists dry, one by one. Now there's just me, Jonathan, Evee, the Curator of this museum, Kronk the camp Chef and Ardeth, the odd guy in the corner."

"We have to go to the City of the Dead and recover the book of the living, the golden book of Amon-Ra. Then we shall be able to defeat Imhotep. Until then, we can only hope to live." Ardeth added.

"Great. We come somewhere 'safe' and get plunged into another war. This is almost as bad as the whole Space Paranoids incident." Sora moaned.

"Gawrsh, that world did come at a pretty bad time, didn't it?" a new voice put in.

"Goofy? Where'd you come from?" Sora asked, astounded.

"I stowed away in your luggage with Donald." Goofy said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wait a minute… I had luggage?" Sora asked.

"Yup, it's all upstairs. Luggage fer all three of ye." He said.

"Goofy, why is there woman's underwear on your foot?" Sora asked cautiously.

"Gawrsh, it was in your bag, Sora. I thought it was a little weird, but…" Goofy said, downcast.

"That's mine!" Kairi yelled, grabbing it off of Goofy's giant foot.

Rick blinked. Ardeth slapped himself on the forehead. Jonathan ordered white wine from Kronk, who was hiding behind the stove, shivering.

"That was the most awkward moment I've seen in years…" Riku mumbled.

"Well, we're not going to save the world standing around hungry and thirsty, are we? Come on, have some food! We've got Chicken a la Kronk, Kronk Soufflé, the Kronk Platter, Kronk in a Basket, and to drink we have the House Wine." Kronk said, setting up a fancy restaurant table in ten seconds flat, complete with music and candles.

Jonathan sat down and took a sip of his wine, "This is truly extraordinary wine, what vineyard is it from?" he asked.

"Well, I couldn't find any grapes, so I used those beetles instead." Kronk said, shrugging his massive shoulders. Jonathan gagged.

"What? I'm so going to kill you, you great, hairy ape!" Jonathan yelled, running after the helpless chef.

"Ditch 'em?" Rick asked Sora.

"Definitely."


	7. Chapter 5: Boils and Oral Hygiene

Chapter 5: Boils, Blemishes and Oral Hygiene

Sora walked calmly through the desolate streets. Nothing could scare him because there was nothing here besides rats and a few dozing vendors. He eventually came upon a smoking ruin of a house that had either been ravaged by the fireballs or landed on by the crew of the Serenity. Crouched in the middle was a shivering blue-masked man wrapped tightly in a black cloak. A scrawny, pale man that Sora could only assume was the Beni Rick had spoken of.

"Master, I have spread your word among the slaves, and passed on the boils as you asked." Beni said.

"Good, good. And the rewards, as promised. You have done well." The masked man replied, handing Beni a small amount of gold, but enough to fetch a good price. Suddenly he stood up and turned around.

"Time to go." Sora muttered to himself, and ran. When he turned around, however, the masked man was directly in front of Sora.

"Radames! You brat!" The man yelled, knocking Sora into a burned-out wall.

Sora got up again, Keyblade in hand, "I've been called Roxas, Sora and So-So, but Radames is the most stupid thing anyone has ever called me." He took a step forward with each word until he was eye-to-mask with the raspy-voiced masked man, "I am in no way intimidated, sir." With the last word he swung his Keyblade with all his pent-up rage at the man's side. The cloaked man went flying into a wall nearby, knocking off his mask.

The man covered his face with his hands, "If my mask does not intimidate you, perhaps this will!" he yelled, removing his hands from his face to reveal a grotesque, half-skinned mummy with lopsided teeth and a dislocated jawbone. "Radames, it is you. Come out and face me you coward!" he yelled, his mouth opening a foot wide with each syllable spoken.

Sora was taken aback, but his smug expression returned in a moment, "Ever heard of oral hygiene, corpse-man?" he asked, readying a reflaga spell. No attack came, however. Instead, the man shunned his robe, revealing that, when ignoring the gaping rotting holes in his chest, a well-muscled man dressed in only long black pants.

"Crap." Sora muttered before running as fast as possible away from the half-mummy. Down the road he ran into Kronk, Riku, Kairi and the others, including Rick.

"What were you doing? You could get hurt alone on the streets at night! Imhotep is out here somewhere! Don't you ever think? You could've led him back right to us and gotten us killed!" Rick fumed.

"Don't be too hard, Rick, he's only a kid!" Evee yelled.

"That's it, you," he pointed to Evee, "shut up, you," he pointed to Sora, "you, quit being an idiot! If I see another toe out of line I will not hesitate to-"

"Uh, you'd all better have a look at this." Riku interrupted, staring down the street.

"Wow. I've heard of a following sea, but this is ridiculous! It's a bunch of sand… with a face in it. What an odd phenomenon." Kronk said, staring at the coming sandstorm.

"Get somewhere safe, quickly!" Rick yelled.

"Under other circumstances, this would be really cool!" Kronk stated, "For example, if I here in some big, cushy living room of a house playing a video game with a really large number of 'well rendered artistry' cut scenes, instead of being in the middle of the action scene! Wouldn't it be just fine and dandy if I was just doing this for some stupid teenager's fan fiction? Wah! I want my little tent kitchen back! WAH!"

"Shut up and get inside, you blundering idiot!" Rick yelled grabbing Kronk and pulling him into the house they were taking shelter in by the back of his neck.

"OWOWOWOWOW!" Kronk yelled.

"WHAT? I grabbed you by the back of your thick neck and you get hurt?" Rick yelled.

Kronk pointed to a red patch of skin on his neck, "Sunburn!" he pouted.

"For the love of…" Rick yelled, slamming his head against the wall.

"Hey Ardeth, you seem to be the resident expert on history." Sora asked the silent black-robed man.

"And if I am?" Ardeth replied in his strange accent.

"Imhotep called me Radames, and I'm pretty sure this Radames isn't related to me." Sora said

"I know many things about Imhotep's past, and I know where he's coming from with this. First I must ask you, do you believe in reincarnation on your world?" Ardeth said, turning to Sora.

"It's not a widespread belief, if that's what you mean." Sora replied.

"I'll tell you something. Reincarnation is very real. He obviously is under the impression that you are Radames." Ardeth said.

"I understand that, but who was Radames?" Sora asked.

"Radames was one of the first keyblade bearers. He served the hawk god Amon-Ra and wielded the keyblade of this world. He was the sworn enemy of the wielder of this world's dark keyblade."

"What happened to him?" Sora asked.

"The dark wielder sealed Radames's soul away in the void of Nothing." Ardeth said simply.

"If he was sealed away, then how is it that he was reincarnated as me?" Sora asked.

"There are many questions you must have, and I don't have answers to any more of them. You will learn them in time, I am sure. But for now, we must concentrate on eliminating Imhotep."

Rick ran up to Sora and Ardeth, "It's Evee and Kairi, they're gone!" He yelled.

"Anything else we should be worried about?" Sora asked. If Ardeth and Rick were right, Imhotep would've sent something to get rid of his enemies.

"There're about 150 slaves marching up to the gates of the museum, if that's any consolation." Rick said, shrugging.

"Where's everyone else?" Sora asked.

"They're heading for the van! Run!" Rick yelled, shooting a slave as he ran down the hall. Sora and Ardeth followed.

As they ran through the museum's rooms of artifacts more and more slaves fell to Rick's many guns and Sora's keyblade. The slaves were men, women and children, all horribly disfigured with oozing boils and blisters. "This is one of the grossest places I've ever been to, but it's not as bad as Port Royal." Sora commented as he cut down another slave.

They soon were out the back door and packed heavily into the van with the curator driving and the last tourist looking frightened out of his mind.

"Never seen anything like this, huh?" Sora asked. The tourist just shook his head slightly and turned to a serious expression, pulling out his pistols as slaves surrounded the van. The heroes cut and shot at the slaves that managed to get onto the van, but in the end, there were too many slaves and the van was overrun. The tourist was the first to get flung off, and Sora caught a glimpse of Imhotep approaching him, mouth stretched out wide, before the van turned another sharp corner and turned over, throwing everyone off.

The slaves formed a semi-circle around Sora, Rick and the others, pinning them against a wall. Suddenly Imhotep walked though, and his servants parted before him. Beni was at his heels, twiddling his fingers and looking gleeful.

"Radames, you see now that I am victorious once again." Imhotep sneered.

Before Sora knew it, he blacked out and another voice began speaking for him, "Really, that's strange. I would've expected something better from you, Imhotep."

"Radames, you're in there? Something from the book of the Dead must've woken you up. It's a shame you won't see the light of day again. I'm fully regenerated in my own body, while you are trapped in another's. Pitiful, foolish boy." Imhotep taunted.

"We're all pawns in the scheme of things, Imhotep. Pawns, nothing more." Radames replied. Imhotep turned and stomped away, cursing.

"Kill them all." Imhotep ordered, and the slaves began to march on the heroes.


	8. Chapter 5X: Organization XV?

Chapter 5X: organization XV!

The House

A room of fifteen black-cloaked figures is really something to behold. Especially when they're all dressed in Organization XIII trenchcoats. And there are not just thirteen of them.

"Who the blazes called us here?" one yelled out, slamming a gloved fist on the table.

"Relax, Hexam. You know how long we've waited for something like this. Now it's here!" A female yelled.

"Larxene, hush up!" Another yelled.

"Stuff it, Axel!" Larxene retorted.

"Shush, all three of you!" Another nobody yelled

"Naxis, Naxis, Naxis. I've been in this business a lot longer than you, and I know when to shut up. Got it memorized?" Axel replied.

"Relax, all of you," A figure said from the doorway. Had anyone looked closer, they would have seen a sparking, torn speaker system around all of the doors. But everyone was looking at the figure in the doorway, "I'm here. Not that that's necessarily consolation for your troubled Nobody minds. But, here I am."

"Who're you, Confucius?" Axel yelled.

"For your information, _Ael_, I'm the one who resurrected you from the depths of Nothing, the all-corrosive substance that even now licks at the edge of our consciousnesses. And yes, I was Confucius in one of my past forms."

"You're also one of the weirdest guys I've ever met." Axel said, causing the other Nobodies to chuckle.

"Do you think perhaps we can continue the meeting?" The leader asked.

"Whatever." Axel replied, leaning back in his high-backed chair.

"Your disregard for protocol has been noted." The leader said venomously.

"What is it that you've resurrected us for, sir?" A younger female nobody asked.

"A good question, umm…"

"Exirac." She replied.

"Erika, of course." She frowned at the improper name, "Now, onto bigger and better things. The wars of old are starting once again. There are many sides, and each man, woman, heartless, and nobody must choose a side." He explained. His speech was met with blank expressions under fifteen hoods, "Look, let me show you." He pressed a button under the table and a double-sided screen rose from the middle, "As I said, there are many sides." The screen changed images with each thing he said. "There's the Keyblade Bearers, the Heartless under Xehanort, the Heartless under Ansem, the Rogues, The Magi, the Chasers, our Organization, and our most formidable enemy." An image of the Villain filled the screen, "This is the Enigma know solely as the Villain. He has united several villains from across the worlds and the Chasers. He is the greatest threat to every side in the war. If he is not crushed, I fear the worst for all."

"This coming from the guy who calls us by the wrong names and resurrects Demyx." Axel muttered.

"I resent that!" A member from across the table yelled.

"When'd you start using words like resent?" Axel asked, causing Demyx to fume quietly.

"Please shut up, I'm trying to tell you something more important!" the leader yelled.

"Fine." Axel muttered.

"As I was saying, after intense study, I have figured out where each of your hearts lie. If you do well, I'll think of telling you where yours is. Do poorly and you'll be in the same situation as this man." A pale, plump man was brought forward.

"Who's that?" Axel asked, growing more bored by the minute.

"This is Benjamin Barker, more commonly known as Sweeny Todd. He was a legendary murderer, but he couldn't perform one mission assigned to him because he was dead. And so he is brought before you today as an example of the failure you may become, and the consequences." He strapped the man to a vertical metal platform on a wall tightly. An odd-looking laser descended from the ceiling and aimed for Sweeny's forehead. "This is my own invention. Usually one only considers the important of hearts in the equation of heartless and nobodies. But the soul gets paid little attention. When the soul is removed, things get interesting." A beam from the laser hit the poor man on the forehead. A silver string flew out into a jar on the other side of the room. The body started to twist and morph, first into a heartless, then a nobody, then a lumpy mass of blubber. Finally nothing remained. "Through this period of soul consumption, the subject goes through excruciating pain the likes of which you have never thought possible."

"Pain is good." Larxene mumbled, obviously impressed by the display.

"I had hoped that you'd agree. Now, you are all to go and get rid of Sora, the Keyblade wielder of Light, and the Villain. I will assign you each a world to… visit. Do well and you will e rewarded. Fail me and face the Wall. It's your choice, nobodies."


	9. Chapter 6: Hamonaptra Rumble

Chapter 6: Hamonaptra Rumble

Sora and company slowly made their way to the Air Force outpost to get a plane to get to the sacred city and save the world. The base was located in the middle of nowhere, consisting of only a hanger and a shed. About fifty yards away a pudgy man with two darkly skinned young men fanning him with palm fronds.

"Who's this guy?" Sora asked Rick.

"Old friend." Rick muttered back.

"Huh." Sora muttered. The man grinned broadly as the company approached his "throne."

"Rick, how are you? And who are these strapping companions of yours? And where's the woman who's fallen head-over-heels for you this time? Come for a visit, have you?" He asked, lifting his girth from the chair and dismissing his fan boys.

"Hello again. Actually, we've come to ask for help getting the girl back. We need to use your plane." Rick replied.

"What's the mission?"

"Save the damsel in distress, defeat the bad guy, save the world." Rick replied.

"I'll help gladly!" the man yelled, running off to the hanger. Sora, Rick, Riku, Kronk, Jonathan and Ardeth followed.

"Is he trustworthy?" Sora asked Rick.

"Completely." Rick replied.

"This proposes a challenge." Riku said. There was only one plane, and it held four people in the air, no more.

"Riku, you may not have any way, but I do!" Sora yelled, grinning widely, "Donald, Goofy!" he yelled, and the stowaways walked in. There was a flash and Sora appeared in Final Form.

"Fancy idiot." Riku mumbled, summoning his Keyblade and standing on it. The wing on the tip of the Way to the Dawn started spinning like a helicopter blade and lifted Riku off the ground.

"Idiots. Plural." Rick muttered to Ardeth.

"Let's hurry up, now!" the pilot yelled.

"Let me go, you monster!" Kairi yelled to Beni, who was grabbing onto her wrist with a very solid grip.

"Zip it, or lord Imhotep will dispose of you." Beni said, grinning.

"You'll get yours, Beni. Just wait, you creepy little…" Kairi said.

"Can I kill her now, lord Imhotep?" Beni pleaded, holding a dagger to Kairi's throat.

Imhotep muttered something in a jumbled, odd language and Beni sighed and put his dagger away.

"Dramr vicopa, Imhotep." Evee yelled, spitting at the mummy's feet. Imhotep turned, speaking in his odd language and laughing. Evee sat down, sad and feeling terrible.

"What'd they just say?" Kairi asked Beni. Beni looked at Imhotep, who nodded, then turned back to Kairi.

"The woman cursed at him, and he commented about the poor quality of her accent. That's all." Beni said to Kairi. Suddenly a plane appeared on the horizon, along with two other smaller figures. Kairi now saw the large city built into a cliff face in front of them. The plane, Sora and Riku passed them, and Imhotep grinned. He picked up a handful of sand and blew it. Suddenly, an enormous sandstorm erupted, chasing after the heroes.

"No!" Kairi and Evee yelled at the same time.

"Don't look now, but there's a giant sandstorm headed right for us." Rick yelled over the noise of the plane and rushing sand.

"Dear god." Riku muttered.

"Rick, fly ahead, I'll deal with this!" Sora yelled, turning towards the giant head in the storm, casting firaga spells as he flew. Chunks of glass fell, but the sandstorm kept getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly, the face swallowed Sora, sending him, Donald and Goofy flying around. Riku was soon gulped, followed by the plane.

Evee groaned and kissed Imhotep smack on the lips. His concentration broke and the rescuers were sent flying ungracefully across the sand. Imhotep growled and grabbed Evee and Kairi, dragging them to the city.

Everyone but the pilot got up soon, spitting out sand and a few desert flies. Rick ran over to get the pilot, but the captain was dead, a broad smile on his face. The plane sunk in quicksand and everyone saluted except for Ardeth, who looked uncomfortable among the people saluting a dead fat guy.

They soon made their way to the city. Sora didn't see anything terribly wrong; it looked like a normal excavation site on television, just without any workers or historians. They descended through a previously sealed doorway. "Here goes." Rick muttered, breaking down a wall into a dark room. A mirror and a small beam of light stood on one side of the pitch blackness. Rick shot a bullet at the mirror, setting at an angle where the light reflected off onto another mirror, where the light reflected on to another and another, illuminating a humongous room filled with gold and jeweled treasure.

"Wow." Riku said, grinning at the wealth and riches.

In a chamber far deeper in the tomb, Kairi and Evee were strapped to a stone table on either side of a dried-out female mummy by thick metal chains. On one side of the room, Imhotep took out a jar with a jackal's head and blew dust out of it onto two statues on the far wall. Suddenly the statues broke out of the wall, half-rock and half-skeleton. "Destroy the intruders, and wake the others." Imhotep ordered, and the large mummies lumbered off. Kairi gasped, and would've held her hands to her mouth if her arms weren't tied up at that moment. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you understood me, Amneris." Imhotep said, turning to Kairi.

"Dramr vicopa, Imhotep." Kairi said. Imhotep laughed, and then slapped her across the face.

"Don't harm the merch, now, Imhotep." A figure said from the corner of the room.

"Wow." Riku said again as the company marched through the piles of gold. He bent down to pick up a piece when Ardeth grabbed his wrist.

"Who's to say that there are no booby traps here? Would you rather not have the treasure, or have it and be melting in a bubbling vat of acid with scarabs gnawing on your brain?" Ardeth asked. Riku stopped immediately and followed the others double-time.

Farther up the path, Sora bent down and picked up a lone gold treasure, an eight-pointed star with a circular ruby in the middle. Rick walked up and Sora quickly pocketed it.

Finally they came upon the golden statue of Horus. However, as they approached it, undead mummies started bursting up out of the ground. Ardeth Took his machine gun that he had picked up off of the plane to the undead minions of Imhotep, blowing limbs and heads off with each round of bullets fired. Meanwhile, Rick and Riku tried to break open a drawer containing the book at the base of the statue. Riku groaned, and unlocked it with his keyblade. Suddenly heartless began pouring into the room.

"Great job!" Rick yelled sarcastically, now sliding the book out with ease as the heartless poured down the walls.

"What do you want, Zoser?" Imhotep asked the man.

"Zoser, who's that? Oh, am I his reincarnation? Listen, you old coot, I've got orders from the top. You're to release the redhead and let her go back to her friends." He said, grinning. Imhotep growled and sliced Kairi's bonds. She ran as fast as she could to get to Sora and the others.

"Does the Villain require anything else?" Imhotep asked.

"Dude, it isn't what he wants, it's what he doesn't want." The figure replied.

"And what might that be?" Imhotep asked.

"He says that he is no longer in need of your services. Tough luck, dude, really." He replied.

"And you are?" Imhotep asked.

The figure laughed, "Not Zoser, if that's what you mean." He said, fading away.

"Dramr vicopa!" Imhotep swore.

"This day really sucks!" Sora yelled, killing as many heartless as possible.

"Go! Go! Go, Sora, GO!" Kronk yelled from the sidelines, wearing a cheerleader outfit and holding pink pom-poms. A heartless walked up to him and Kronk shrieked, standing up on a throne just like an old lady getting away from a mouse in the movies. Of course, a heartless is generally quite a bit bigger than a mouse, and it climbed onto the throne after Kronk. Just as it was about to take poor Kronk's heart, a stray bullet hit the heartless in the head and it flew across the room, shrieking as loud as Kronk until it hit a wall and its heart drifted up into the air.

Soon, all of the heartless had been disposed of, but more mummies were pouring in through a hallway. "Go!" Ardeth yelled, running into the fray, fighting in close combat with the mummies. As he disappeared into the sea of reanimated corpses, Rick threw at stick of dynamite into the tunnel and the survivors ran to fight Imhotep.


	10. Chapter 7: Do you Hear the Undead Sing?

Author's note: Flamberge: I managed to write this chapter before leaving. I don't own anything but Xaxel in this chapter!

Chapter 7: Do you Hear the Undead Sing?

Sora, Rick, Riku, Kronk, Donald, Goofy, and Jonathan sped down the corridors of the sacred tomb as fast as they could, Jonathan clutching the golden book tightly to his chest. In one of the hallways they ran into Kairi, knocking her to the ground. "Kairi!" Sora yelled, offering his hand to help her up.

"Sora?" she replied, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Kairi, we need to get to Imhotep to save Evee!" Sora yelled.

"I'm afraid you won't be doing that anytime soon." A figure said, stepping out from the darkness.

"And who might you be?" Sora asked, summoning his Keyblade.

"Xaxel, number five in the new Organization and spy for the Villain. I've got a foot in two worlds, per say.

"Who's the Villain?" Riku asked, summoning his Keyblade.

"He'll like, be totally your doom!" Xaxel said. Suddenly he noticed Kronk, "Kronk-o! How ya hanging you big lug?" he yelled, shaking hands with the chef while the others stared in classic anime open-mouthed confusion with a sweat drop here and there.

"Kronk, explain. Now." Rick managed to say.

"Xaxel and me go way back. I remember surfing the killer waves at the beach… good times, good times." Kronk said, ending with a gigantic grin.

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight… you can surf?" Rick said, and everyone but Kronk broke out into fits of laughter.

"Whoo. Anyway, where as I? Oh yeah… PREPARE TO DIE, LITTLE DUDE!" Xaxel yelled, summoning up two decorated swords crafted in the shape of dragons.

Sora blinked, "… crap…" Xaxel took this opportunity to strike, stabbing, slashing, and all those good things. Unfortunately, he found himself attacking a wall as Sora had run down the corridor along with the rest of the heroes.

"Damn." Xaxel muttered, disappearing through a dark portal.

"Rise, Anck-Su-Namun!" Imhotep yelled. The mummy next to Evee started to stir slightly, then jerked alive, gasping wildly. Evee, currently playing the part of the timid damsel in distress, screamed her lungs out as quickly as possible. Which was really weird, considering the fact that she had previously made out with Imhotep, and you can't get much grosser than that.

Well, here she was, screaming, and Imhotep said, "When she kills you, the resurrection will be complete! And I will be invincible! Then, I'll be able to show the Villain who's boss here. Heh." Imhotep said, stretching his arms.

"Way to monologue, Imhotep!" Rick yelled, bursting in, along with the other heroes. Imhotep's priests charged immediately and Rick grabbed a golden sword and started hacking and slashing at the mummies. He lobbed off heads, torsos, hands, legs, scalps, some other parts we don't feel like mentioning, and approximately three copies of the rock opera version of Aida.

"You guys really are old!" Sora yelled, pointing to his ear as he assisted Rick in hacking and slashing away, "They're called iPods!" he taunted, knocking the head off of a mummy.

"RADAMES! You dare come back, you ignorant child?" Imhotep yelled, "This time, I'll squash you!" he yelled, summoning up an extremely unexpected weapon, a keyblade.

"Gwah! What in the name of… justice-ish stuff I do, is that?" Sora yelled, blocking Imhotep's first strike.

"What do you think it is keyblade wielder?" Imhotep snarled back landing a flurry of blows directly on Sora's keyblade.

"I was sorta hoping it'd be one of those Organization weapons that just looks like a keyblade." Sora said, smiling slightly.

"Idiot child." Imhotep replied, batting Sora away across the room where he fell down, unconscious, in one of the many piles of gold. Imhotep was about to deal the fatal keyblade toss when Kairi stepped in, blocking it with her keyblade. Imhotep's blade fell to the floor and its master summoned it back quickly, rushing forward to attack. Kairi blocked and retaliated with another strike of her own, piercing Imhotep's chest. Imhotep groaned and pulled himself further down the blade. "I can't die, remember?"

"No," came a voice from behind Imhotep, "But it feels really good to shoot you in the head." Jonathan yelled from an upper platform. Kronk was right next to him, biting his nails. "Look! I've got the golden book of Amon-Ra! Ha! Beat that, you stupid mummy!" Imhotep growled and advanced towards Jonathan. Jonathan tossed the book to Rick once Imhotep was close, and then ran as fast as he could past Imhotep, down the stairs, and to the corner of the room. Imhotep growled and summoned up a group of powerful-looking soldier mummies with hooked staffs. Rick groaned. "This just keeps getting better and better!" he yelled, promptly running away as fast as possible. The mummies followed, staffs at the ready. Along the way, Rick discreetly passed the book to Jonathan, who picked up the key that Imhotep had dropped and unlocked the book, ready to read. Rick continued on to a small fire, where he stopped. The mummies, their brains having been rotted out through the ages, kept running past, and fell straight into the fire, their undead bodies burning into ashes.

Imhotep cursed and turned to Jonathan when Jonathan started reading the incantation. "No!" Imhotep yelled as a ghostly chariot drove in and grabbed his soul, pulling it into the blue pool in the room. Imhotep opened his eyes and blinked, regaining his battle pose and charging at Rick who stabbed his sword into the former priest.

"I thought it was supposed to kill him!" Rick yelled.

"He's mortal." Evee muttered. Suddenly bright red blood began to spurt from Imhotep. He staggered back straight into the Pool of the Dead. Suddenly the waters started roiling and bubbling, transforming Imhotep back into his former mummified self and sinking beneath the waters. Suddenly the tomb started to seal up on its own.

"Time to go!" Rick yelled, grabbing Evee's hand. Together, the gang ran out into daylight and made their triumphant leave.

Beni moaned as the walls sealed up around him. "This is not good, this is not good at all." He muttered as a swarm of scarabs rose up from the floor. He tried to run, but the tiny beetles cornered him against a wall. Needless to say, Beni was not heard from again for a while.


	11. Chapter 8: The Disney Vault

Chapter 8: The Disney Vault

_Disney Castle_

_Lower Basement level 2.4_

_Information Classified_

A much younger King Mickey lowered himself into the secret level of his castle that held the huge golden door of the recently dubbed Disney Vault. The Vault had been discovered by accident a week prior to his recent coronation, and Mickey had dedicated his free time to cracking the Vault in his three years as king of Disney Castle. He had tried everything to open it, but there seemed to be no tumblers, keyhole, or even hinges on or in the door. He had finally given up on the enigmatic golden doors. Whatever was behind them was hidden, and it would stay hidden forever without the correct combination.

The King ran his hands over the smooth, slightly dusted surface, "Well, I'm sorry to give up onya, but I don't really know any way to open ya up. Suddenly the door shuddered, and a slip of paper flew out of a slot in the door. Mickey caught it, and began to read.

_To whoever has attempted to open this Vault,_

_Greetings. I too have tried to open this door. It took me years, but I finally succeeded. In admitting defeat I am now giving you the chance to open it up. Understand that you must not take opening the Vault lightly. If you are not pure of thought and do not imagine, opening the door could destroy the entire universe as we know it, consuming all in its darkness. I cannot tell you what awaits inside the Vault, only that it can bring about anything you can imagine._

_Without further ado, I now reveal to you the combination._

_How many letters are in the alphabet?_

_How many sentient beings exist in Disney Castle?_

_How many worlds exist?_

_Good luck,_

_X_

**END TRANSMISSION**

The Villain groaned. He'd been looking for how to open the hidden Vault beneath Disney Castle for days now, with no luck. He'd hacked into the Castle records a week ago, but there was no transmission detailing what lay behind the door, or the combination. All he had found was those three stupid riddles that didn't tell squat. Nobody knew how many worlds there were, more formed every year, and who knew what year the transmission was from, let alone the message. He sighed, and turned on his favorite movie, Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp.

Time passed, and just as Mort's ex-wife came inside to find the insane Mr. Rainey, the power went out on The Villain's laptop. The Villain groaned, "Today Just keeps getting better and better." He said, looking up at the Vault door in his newly obtained castle.

---

Sora, Riku, and Kairi waved goodbye to everyone who had helped them. Donald and Goofy had already boarded the Gummi Ship that they were to leave on, and they were getting ready to make way. The door started to close, and Kronk ran in at the last minute, soaked hankie in hand.

"Kronk, what are you doing here?" Sora asked.

"I can't just let you guys wander around the universe without a chaperone, can I?" he wailed.

"Um… yeah, I think you can." Riku said, picking up the handkerchief and throwing it into the upper atmosphere, where it burned into nothing in seconds.

"Besides, I'm the one supervising them." Someone in the corner of the room said.

Sora whipped around, "Who are you?" he asked, summoning his Keyblade.

"I'm the captain of this ship. I'm an old friend of Mal's." She said, stepping into the dim light. She looked about twenty, with curly hair and a short skirt.

"I was asking what your name was, actually." Sora said.

"Saffron." She replied, leaving the room.

"She's trouble. Simple as that, what do you think, Riku?" She turned, but the older, silver-haired boy was drooling, stupefied completely. She waved her hand in front of his face, "Destiny Islands to Riku, come in, Riku, over." He didn't move.

Suddenly Riku snapped to attention, "I need the Golden Book!"

"Uhh… why?" Sora asked.

"It's the Heartless keyhole!" he yelled, suddenly panicked.

"And you know this how?" Sora asked, clenching his hands into fists.

"I tried to unlock it with my Keyblade and the heartless came." Riku replied, smiling nervously.

"You did what?" Sora asked jumping at Riku and starting to punch him repeatedly. "You. Big. Stupid. Blundering idiot." Sora said, punching Riku with each word.

"Wow, I didn't know there were more people like me!" Kronk said, rescuing Riku from Sora with a bone-crushing hug.

"Choking, not breathing." Riku wheezed out while Sora and Kairi laughed their heads off.

On the bridge

Saffron smiled to herself, "This is going to be too easy." She turned on a screen, and the masked face of The Villain appeared, "I've got them."

"Good." The Villain said. "Now get them to the net, and I'll give you your pay."

"Fair enough." She said, turning the monitor off. "Too easy." She turned on a second monitor, and the leader of Organization IV appeared. "I've got them."

"Good. Get them to the net, and the money is yours." He said, and the screen turned off.

"These kids sure have a lot of enemies." Saffron said, picturing all the things her four million munny reward could buy.


	12. Chapter 9: The Net

Chapter 9: The Net

"Saffron seems… vaguely nice…" Sora said, dealing out another hand of poker to Kairi, Kronk, and Riku.

"You kidding? She's hot!" Riku yelled.

"Ahem. Can we just get to our poker game?" Kairi said, discarding three cards.

"You know what's weird? The last time I had any involvement with a 52-card deck of playing cards was in Wonderland with the Queen of Hearts and her stupid guards." Sora said, smiling as he discarded two cards and dealt the five missing cards back into their owner's hands.

A few hands passed, and Riku progressively grew more tired. Finally he folded his last hand, "I'm turning in for the night." He said, yawning and walking to his room.

"G'night." Sora called after him. "Now that he's gone, let's up the risk here," Sora said, grinning. "Let's play strip poker."

"I'd be fine with that if it weren't for him." Kairi replied, pointing to Kronk, "He's never won a single and, and I think I might throw up if-"

"I get the picture, Kairi!" Sora yelled, shuddering slightly at the idea.

"Yeah, I'm really ugly when I'm naked. And I don't mean regular ugly, but bad ugly. You try living with this body for your entire-"

"KRONK!" Sora and Kairi yelled.

112233112233

Riku lowered himself into his room. He pulled out the portable sink, brushed his teeth and got his Mickey Mouse pajamas on, like any good boy. However, when he turned to his cot, Saffron was lying naked in it.

"Nice P.J.s." she said, smiling.

"What the heck are you doing in here?" Riku asked, glancing away.

"You're a big boy, and a big boy's got to learn a few things." She said, subtly batting her eyelashes.

"I think I'll just… sleep somewhere else. Go ahead and take my room if you want, I'll go to the cargo hold and, um… yeah." He replied, backing away.

"Don't bother, the door's locked." She said, smiling innocently. "We're all alone. Anything you want to do?" she said, getting out of the cot.

"God, stop! I'm gonna throw up." Riku yelled, clutching his stomach.

"Wow. An almost eighteen-year-old boy with hormones and you won't kiss me. Even married men are easier to crack. Ha." Saffron said, smiling even wider.

"What the-" Riku began, but was cut off by a swift kick to the head.

"Works every time." Saffron muttered, smirking as she got dressed again and headed for the cargo bay, dragging the unconscious Riku behind her.

112233112233

Elsewhere

"You sure we're going the right way?" the brown-haired pale youth asked his companion.

The pink cat nodded. This was definitely the right way. The only problem was, they had no idea where they were. Both were refugees from different worlds, and neither had any idea what world they'd landed in.

They were currently wandering through snowy wood somewhere. Suddenly the pink cat got excited and started jumping up and down, pointing at a building in the distance.

"A building! Great job! Let's go, pinkie!" the boy yelled, smiling. The cat tapped his foot impatiently on the ground. "Fine, 'The Pink Panther.' Can we just go?" he yelled. The cat just ran ahead of him, his long pink tail lashing back and forth. They were almost at the building, which they now saw was a tavern, when a black-hooded figure emerged from a dark portal at the side of the road and blocked the doors.

"Hey, watch it, mate!" the boy yelled.

"I'm so sorry. Who are you guys?" the cloaked figure asked, turning to them.

"Well, I'm Tobias, and this is the Pink Panther, and we're hopelessly lost. Could you possibly help us in any way possible?" Tobias said, cocking his head to one side.

"Didn't you parents ever tell you not to talk to strangers, kid?" the man asked, cocking his head to the other side.

"I've talked to people much stranger than you, make no mistake." Tobias said, summoning up his Razor's Edge keyblade.

"Hey, you've got a keyblade?" Ain't that cute!" The man yelled, then tilted his head back and laughed. "You know what a heartless is, kid?" he asked. Tobias nodded slowly, "Of course you do. But I do Heartless one better. He held out his hand and an assortment of Nobodies appeared. The standard Dusks and Creepers were there, along with silver-headbanded Rocker nobodies with huge bass guitars. The Pink Panther called up his three keyblades, Springing Panther, Bumbling Inspector, and Wild Chase. He held on in each of his hands and one in his tail. "Ta-ta!" the cloaked figure said, disappearing as quickly as he had come.

Tobias ran around quickly, slitting Nobody throats left and right, while the Pink Panther slipped into impossible spaces and leapt out, slamming nobodies left and right, and doing his comedy routines that had entertained so many people on his home world, trapping Dusks in posters and tearing them in half with his keyblades, slamming the background into Creepers, among other slapstick jokes.

After a while, the two collapsed from exhaustion. There were too many of them, and they just kept coming out of the ground. Suddenly a huge muscular blur burst out of the tavern, cutting down the Nobodies with knives that, if Tobias hadn't known better, grew out from between the man's fingers. The two just stared in wonder as the knives slipped back up the man's sleeve, or wherever they had come from and he turned to them.

"Though day, huh?" he said, lighting a cigar.

112233112233

"You guys, come here! Riku's hurt really badly!" Saffron moaned, almost grinning, but she didn't break character. She was going to get a lot of munny for this, and it would come to her soon. All she had to do was find out where the shuttle was, and then she was living the high life. In reality she'd probably squander it away gambling and such, but fantasy is generally more appealing then reality, as most know.

"What?" Sora yelled, running towards Saffron. As he turned around the corner towards her, she slammed her foot into his chest, then his head. Kairi didn't follow, so Saffron assumed that she was in her cot, and she didn't say anything. The new coordinates were in the shipboard computer, and the shuttle was ready for launch. Her work was done here.

112233112233

Kairi watched Saffron run to the shuttle, and launched it into empty space. Suddenly she saw the net, a blue speck in the distance. She ran to the bridge, which Saffron hadn't bothered locking, knowing that the three children would have no idea how to change it. Kairi didn't particularly know how to fix it, but she knew who could.

_Flashback_

_Kaylee and Kairi were sitting on Kaylee's cot in Serenity, eating their protein-enriched goop and chatting, as girls tend to do, mechanical geniuses or not. Kaylee was talking about an incident years ago, when a female mercenary had boarded Serenity. "Her name was Saffron," Kaylee said, sucking down more liquid food, "She boarded us , years ago, pretending to be the capt'n's wife. We had gone to a ceremony the day before, a big huge party celebrating us, and she married him while he was drunk. She pretended to be real sweet, that is until she knocked out both Wash and the cap'n, and sent us towards a great big electric net that'd zap us if we got too close. We all got up to the bridge and saw this thing, blue electricity crackling between six rods. So Jayne took his biggest gun and blew away the rods."_

"_Wow." Kairi said, munching on a cracker._

"_Sometime I'll tell you how Jayne's a folk hero on a moon." Kaylee said, grinning._

"_No way!" Kairi yelled, dropping the cracker she was holding, "Are we thinking of the same Jayne, the big gunner guy?"_

"_Yep, that's him!"_

_End flashback_

Serenity, this is Alpha 626, requesting immediate assistance!" she screamed into the microphone.

Wash's voice was full of static, but it was still there, "This is Serenity, who is this?" he asked.

"Wash, this is Kairi! Our controls are locked, Sora and Riku are unconscious, and were headed for a big blue net! We could really use help here!" she yelled back, staring at the ever-growing net.

"Keep your head, Kairi, we're coming! Hang in there!" Wash yelled, turning the communication off.

"Easier said than done." Kairi muttered, as the looming net grew closer and closer.


	13. Chapter 10: Grand Rescue

Chapter 10: Rescue Mission

ABOARD SERENITY

Wash set right to work. He quickly pinged the ship Sora, Kairi and Riku were currently riding on, and then changed the course to that location. The ship lurched as it changed course. Pretty soon the captain would come up to the bridge, asking about the change of course. Luckily they were so close to the otherwise doomed ship, that if Mal was in the rear of the ship, they might just make it there before he started yelling.

But the captain was not in the rear of the ship. In fact, he was right by the door.

"Wash, where the blue blazes are you taking us?" Mal yelled, stepping into the bridge.

"We're on a rescue mission, captain. Three certain teenagers are about to hit a net. My guess, Saffron, though that still doesn't explain how Kairi wasn't unconscious." Wash replied, praying that they got to the ship in time.

"There's no proof of that. No one told them about Saffron. They're probably just idiots. May I remind you how short on time we are?" he said, genuinely menacing.

"I think we can spare twenty minutes." Wash said, tuning to Mal.

"Do my ears deceive me, or did you just give an order?" Mal said.

"It's not an order; I just don't leave people to die. I don't think anyone else would appreciate your decision. Want to see?" Wash said.

"Just get it over with." Mal said, stalking out of the bridge.

Zoe entered after the fuming captain left, "What've you done to get his dander up?" she asked, obviously amused.

"And why didn't I get to see it?" Jayne asked, walking in.

"We're off on a distress call we picked up from those three kids the mouse guy chartered on a couple weeks ago. Saffron got to them, or I think so, as far as I can tell." Wash replied, "The captain thinks we shouldn't."

"Are they in mortal danger?" Zoe asked, obviously shocked.

"Listen for yourself. I got the whole thing on tape." Wash replied, putting the message on screen.

"Did you show this to the captain?" Zoe asked when the transmission ended.

"It was still processing, and he didn't ask." Wash replied, turning to her.

"Well, let's go already." She said, walking out.

"I can't wait to blow more holes in that silver-haired kid." Jayne said, smirking.

"I don't think there'll be much of that, Jayne, but I'll leave you to your fantasies." Wash replied, yawning as the net came into view. _Oh god, let us get there in time._

11223311233

On a space station a long way away

Adelai Niska smiled. After months of planning and rebuilding his empire, he once again had pinpointed Serenity. "They will know my new power." He said, grinning maniacally, as evil masters of torture are wont to do.

112233112233

Aboard Alpha 626 Transport Shuttle

Kairi laid out the cards for a game of solitaire. She never told anyone, but the card game always made her feel much calmer when she played it in times of stress. She smiled. It was almost as bad a habit as the deck of Magic: The Gathering cards she kept in her closet back home. Wait a minute, weren't they in her luggage? She smiled and ran to grab them. When she got to the command bridge, the net was in plain sight, but luckily, Serenity was in sight as well, so she was convinced that she had nothing to worry about.

Wash's face appeared on the transmission screen. "Hey Kairi? This is Wash. Listen, don't panic. You'll be okay. We're going to walk you through this, okay?" he paused, then continued, "Look under the dashboard and flip the blue, red and green switches from off to on, alright? Good, now, pull off the panel next to the switches. You'll see a battery. Now, you'll need to stick something thin into the paneling between the edges of the battery."

"What do I stick in?" she asked

"I don't know; find something, or your as good as dead!" Wash yelled. Kairi looked around, and then finally saw the Magic cards. She grabbed two and stuffed them into the slots. The transport cruiser stopped dead, just a little bit away from the net. "Alright, we're almost there. Now just wait. We're going to give you a nudge away from the net, and then you're going to grab the others and board Serenity, understand?"

"Yeah, go ahead!" She yelled, running to get Sora and Riku. She grabbed Sora, then Riku, dragging them out to the docking bay. There was a rippling shudder as Serenity nudged Alpha 626 into deep space. Suddenly the hold doors opened, and Kairi, Riku and Sora ran aboard Serenity, safe and sound.

112233112233

Radiant Garden

"This is really great. I'm stuck in one of the most heavily law-enforced worlds in the galaxy, with the stupidest person I've ever met! How could my life get any worse?" Saffron yelled, standing in the sinkhole where the castle had been. "The shuttle just had to run out of fuel here, didn't it?"

"Well, it could be raining." Kronk said, and it did indeed start to pour rain.

Saffron ran for cover, fuming. "At least I have plenty of meat." She muttered, wondering how many ways she could roast Kronk.

A/N: Flamberge: That's the chapter, everyone! Sorry it was so short; I'll get to the next one right away. I just want to take this opportunity to ask people to review. Yet again, I am only being reviewed by Laredo tornado, and I'd like to know what other people think! Review me and I'll review you back, just review! Or my army of poorly designed robots will broadcast Dora the Explorer on all of your TV channels! Muahahahha!


	14. Chapter 11: Dress Party Disaster

Chapter 11: Dress Party Disaster

Leon groaned as he tried to decide what suit to wear to the dress party that night. Dress was far from being his strongest suit, no matter how hard he tried to change it. If it weren't for the fact that the party was honoring Sora, Kairi and Riku, he would have turned down the invitation, but the three were missing in action, so he figured it was his duty to attend. He _was_ the guest of honor, was he not? In Leon's experience, being the guest of honor meant plenty of food and applause. Leon really liked applause.

He finally chose the black suit and walked out the door of Merlin's house to the waiting limo. _I'm going to run myself through on my gunblade, then shoot my head off, if Yuffie's-_

"Hi, Leon! Hurry up!" Yuffie yelled from the limo.

_In the limo._ Leon finished sadly, getting into the stretched car.

112233112233

At the party

Leon walked around the grass lawn where the party was taking place. An Ice sculpture of Sora, Kairi, and Riku sat in the middle of the lawn, only a few feet from where the castle had once been. He grabbed the last glass of lemonade off of a server's platter. _Please let this be hard lemonade._ Unfortunately, it wasn't, and Leon didn't feel any less depressed over the loss of the three heroes.

Leon walked over to the bar, "Give me a drink, and make it snappy."

"What kind?" The bartender asked.

"Anything with obscenely high alcohol content." He muttered.

"Sorry, nothing with alcohol for the party, I mean we are honoring minors." He replied, smiling.

"Please tell me you're joking." Leon asked.

"Nope. Sorry, Leon, but you'll have to get wasted somewhere else." The bartender said, smiling slightly.

"Screw you." Leon muttered, walking back to the party.

"This is Falstaff. Squall Leonheart's here. Retreat?" The bartender spoke into an earpiece.

"No, hold your ground; I think this'll give me something else to be proud of. Hold, but do not engage Squall. You copy?" a voice replied.

"Copy that." The bartender said, smiling.

112233112233

Inside the Radiant Garden Gathering Hall

Leon sat down in his place at the long table, and looked around at the other guests. Most of the others who had been friends of the saviors had stuffed themselves into formal wear and were in attendance, including Cid. Down the table, Leon noticed a group of what could only be described as hippies, dressed in brightly colored clothing and headbands. "Great, party-crashers. No respect for the dead at all, they just want free food. Well, soon they'll be sorted out, and I'll find an alcoholic beverage. It'll get better." He muttered.

But it only got worse from there.

Someone, Leon couldn't tell who, tried to get the hippies to leave, but they wouldn't, so the man left to call the police.

"Look, my friend Claude here is in love with this chick he saw on a horse, and he just wants to look at her for a few minutes before we go. Is that all right, or am I going to have to do this the hard way?" he said, extremely serious.

"You've got a helluva nerve, young man." An old woman said, staring at him.

He grinned and started to sing, "_I got life, mother_

_I got-"_

"Before this turns into a huge song-and-dance routine on the table, can someone save up from this pit?" someone yelled from the gaping nearby hole. As expected, everyone rushed to the hole, leaving no one to listen to the hippie sing.

"Thank you all for coming, now help me!" the woman who had first yelled screamed up.

"Who are you?" Leon asked, lowering himself down on an extended service ladder.

"My name is Saffron. I abandoned my ship in order to save myself, but my shuttle crashed in that big hole. Thank you so much for rescuing me." She purred.

"Saffron? As in the wanted across seven worlds, woman who tried to kill me Saffron?" Leon yelled, now considering dropping her back into the pit.

"Leon? Oh, this is not good." Saffron muttered.

"By order of the Radiant Garden justice committee, I hereby place you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent." Leon droned in his law-like manner.

"You'll have to catch me first." She said, snapping the handcuffs and running away. Leon chased her for a little while, but eventually lost interest and went back to the party.

112233112233

Disney Castle

The Villain stared up at the Disney Vault. He'd spent countless sleepless nights trying to figure out the stupid thing, and now the paper was missing. He had also gained word that the elusive King Mickey was rallying an army, which only made things worse. Suddenly, an idea dawned on him. _Whatever the number is, it has to be on the Vault dial, or our mysterious X was very wrong indeed. _He thought, running to the dial. Sadly, the numbers only went to one hundred. The Villain sighed, then looked at the eight key. It was barely visible, but it lay on a circle in the metal. The Villain smiled, and turned the knob. _It's not eight._ He thought, turning it to the side, _its infinity!_ He gave a small smile of triumph and turned the dial to the new infinity key and heard a loud, resonant _thud_ as a bolt inside the mechanism slid away from its groove in the door.

112233112233

Radiant Garden

Leon sat down to his third course, steamed shrimp in Salty Sauce with pasta. Apart from being soaked in his least favorite sauce ever, it was pretty good. He ate it and sighed, totally satisfied.

After the fifth course, Leon was pretty full. He wasn't sure how his head would feel the next day, but he'd leave that to the gods of alcohol. God, he was drunk, wasn't he? He shook his head and all his rational thought returned. "I love doing that. Really scares the shit out of some people." He muttered to himself.

Suddenly the lights shut off. The room erupted into a panic until a red light filled the room, then they tried to find its source. The glow came from a torch held by a man wearing nothing but a half-mask and a grey cloak. A bandolier ran outside of the cloak, the Heartless and Nobody symbols were there, but a third mark was sewn in as well.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!" he yelled, "My name is Paul, and I'll be your invader today. May I suggest full cooperation? It's our special today. If you don't like that, try the overly painful death."

"You're trying to take over the world?" Leon asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"If you insist, sir." The man replied coolly.

"Umm, I don't." Yuffie yelled, grabbing her shuriken and lunging at the invader.

The man stabbed her straight through the chest with a sword that he pulled out from his cloak, "Order up!" He snarled, throwing the bleeding Yuffie away.

"Nobody hurts her and gets away with it." Leon snarled, grabbing a knife and running at the man, who dispatched him in the same way he had gotten rid of Yuffie.

"Wow. You're all just way to easy. Seriously, I was expecting a challenge." He yelled to the terrified audience.

"You!" Snarled the hippie.

"Berger, is that you? It's been years. God, what happened to your hair?" the man replied, obviously amused.

Berger grabbed a metal staff from the wall, "Hey, you still got enough spirit left in you to fight fair?" he yelled.

The man summoned up a staff with the three symbols on it, "Most likely not, though." He replied, smirking.

Berger dealt the first blow, and the fight began. The two opponents dodged left and right, staffs smashing into each other. They never spoke a word during the battle, each getting beaten and bruised as staffs nearly stuck through flesh, soon being parried and retaliated to with another flurry of blows. The battle lasted for thirty minutes, and then the man withdrew and clambered out of the hall. As he reached the doorway, he turned around. "If you haven't guessed, my name's not Paul. And I will be back, so watch out."

"Well, that was… interesting." Leon muttered before he blacked out from blood loss.


	15. Chapter 12: First Briefing

Chapter 12: First Briefing

Sora slowly woke up. _Where am I?_ He wondered, _last I remember, I was with Saffron and… _Suddenly he remembered what had happened. _Oh, crap. Where am I now?_ He thought, sitting up.

"Welcome back to the real world, kid." Sora heard someone say.

"Oh, crap, is that you, Captain Reynolds?" Sora asked, looking around the room. Sure enough, he was somehow back onboard Serenity with Captain Reynolds sitting beside him.

"You don't call me captain unless you're part of my crew or a passenger, you understand me?" Mal asked. Sora nodded shakily and stood up.

"Where're you dropping us this time?" Sora asked suspiciously, "We got a bit more than we bargained for last time you left us somewhere."

"That depends on where you want to go." Mal stated, leaving the room. Sora quickly got dressed and walked out into the cargo bay to find out just what was going on. Mal had seemed strange, and something wasn't right when a strong-headed guy like that seemed nervous.

As he walked into the familiar mess hall he saw two unfamiliar figures sitting at a table with Kairi and Riku. "Ah, Sora! Please, come take a seat." One yelled. He looked to be around Leon's age with spiked black hair, blue eyes, and a vertical scar running near his ear. He wore a blue camouflage T-shirt with a tan leather jacket over it, jeans and a chain belt. A large sword hung from a shoulder scabbard, and two pistols hung from his belt, both loaded for immediate use.

His companion was sitting next to him, her eyes closed in meditation, no doubt waiting for Sora to come in. She had long blond hair with a red streak in front and pale skin. She wore a sleeveless black shirt, a short skirt and knee-high boots. Two curved knives hung from a leather belt above her skirt and another was integrated into her left boot. "He made me wear the skirt to try to appeal to you." She said, opening her eyes, which were an almost luminous green. "I can read minds." She said, smirking.

"She's creepy that way." The man muttered, then turned around, "Hello, saviors of the worlds! My name is Morgan, and ye olde emo lady over here is Riz! We're here to hire you to do something for us! Pretty cool, huh?"

"They're not stupid, Morgan." Riz said.

"Alright fine, to business then. Before we tell you anything, you need to tell us what you know about these three people." Morgan said, sliding three pieces of photo paper across the table.

"Who are these guys, I haven't seen them anywhere." Sora asked, looking at the pictures.

"This one here," Morgan began, pointing to a picture of a hooded man with a mask, "Is the Villain, one of the major players in the upcoming Keyblade War. His identity is unknown, and there are no suspects as to who could be hiding behind that mask, or what his motivation is. All we know is that he commands several villains and the Chasers. Now this one," He pointed to the second picture. It showed a man in a grey cloak standing on a table. His face was blurred out, but it looked as though he had a half-mask on, "is the Joiner. We don't know his motivation, or his power's extent, but this last one we know the most about." He pointed to the final picture. It showed a thin man in a black Organization XII cloak with the hood over his eyes, "This is the ruler of the Organization XV. He is extremely powerful, but we know the extent of his powers and his motivation, and we have several hunches as to who he might be when he's not plotting. His motivation is to control Kingdom Hearts, as many before have. Unfortunately we also know that he is close to succeeding."

"Where do we fit in here?" Sora asked, studying the picture of the Joiner.

"We're going to send you to different worlds to narrow down our list of suspects. Once we know who our enemies are, we know their weakness, and we can stop them for good. You will be paid well, and you'll get to save the worlds again. After all's said and done, we'll just disappear, and you'll never have to see us again. Sound fair?" Riz asked.

"What happens if our enemies move against us while we're on one of these jobs?" Riku asked.

"It's quite simple, actually. We'll up your pay." Morgan said, "So are you in?"

"Definitely." Sora said, grinning.

"If he's in, I guess I've got no choice." Riku said, sighing, "I'm in, too."

"Don't forget me! I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines! I'm in!" Kairi yelled.

"I thought you three just might say that. If so, then here's how it's going to work on these jobs. You're going to drop into the world we send you to. These wristwatch computers will give you the name of the suspect, his records, location, everything you need, right on your wrist. And it tells time, so you really get everything!" Morgan said, passing over three wristwatches.

"What's the big deal about telling time?" Sora asked, strapping his on.

"The last model didn't." Riz replied.

"We're currently right above your first planet, so get to your personal shuttle, and get going!" Morgan yelled, motioning for the three to leave.

"Do you really have that much faith in them?" Riz asked as soon as the three had left.

"They're young, but they've faced this kind of stuff before, plus three keyblades is quite a feature indeed. Yeah, I have faith." Morgan said, packing up the pictures.

"I meant the watches, stupid."

112233112233

The Shuttle

"Well, we're off on another big adventure, and we're getting paid for this one!" Sora yelled, separating the shuttle from Serenity.

"And we get a wicked shuttle to boot!" Riku added, lying on the plush couch.

"Here goes nothing." Sora muttered, steering towards the nearby world.

A/N: There's another chapter! Tell me how I'm doing in a review and I guarantee you will get one back soon!


	16. Chapter 13: the Fire Swamps

Chapter 13: The Fire Swamp

Sora docked the shuttle near a grove of trees. "I wonder where they sent us." Sora wondered, switching on his wristwatch's information screen. A semi-transparent holographic screen the size of a piece of lined paper was formed in the air, and a readout flashed across it.

CURRENT LOCATION: The Fire Swamps, Floren.

Local time: 2:40 PM

Vitals: Normal

World Suspect: Prince Humperdink

Possible Crimes: Providing funds to the Villain

Evidence: The Prince has been sending large amount of money to pay a "debt" that suddenly appeared in the Palace ledgers, and then kept growing even as he paid it. The money was transferred to Syndrome, a known operative of the Villain, and then vanished, to be used to my military and other supplies for an unknown buyer. This buyer claimer that he was not in compliance with Syndrome, but a call had been recorded between to two at a previous date cementing a twelve-billion untraceable munny payment. It is uncertain whether this call was patchworked or not, and scientists are working to dissect the voices for suspects.

"His name is what?" Riku yelled erupting into fits of laughter.

"Riku, I'm sure it's been his cross to bear for his entire life! So no matter how funny it may be, don't make fun of it. Besides, he is a prince, and we'd better not go disrupting royalty, or our time here might get cut short." Kairi said, opening the shuttle doors and stepping outside. Strangely, she fell right through the first sandy patch of ground she stepped on.

"Kairi?" Sora asked, looking out the door. He noticed the rippling patch of sand and leapt into action. He grabbed a metal chain with clasps at each end and hooked one end to the ship, the other to his belt and jumped into the sand. Riku watch as the chain slowly became taut, then added more slack. Eventually Sora and Kairi came bursting out. "My god, where did they send us?" Sora asked, flopping on the ground.

"According to my watch, a yellow-marked zone on all listings, whatever that means." Riku pointed out.

"Generally, a yellow-marked zone on a map is right between orange and green in terms of how dangerous the area is, but that's just a guess. After all, you could have something different from common listings, as that is obviously not a common map." Someone said from beyond the trees, cutting a path with his sword.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, bewildered.

"Depends on what you know me buy. If you know me as the dread pirate Roberts, then call me that, but if you know me as anything else, go ahead and call me that." The man said. He was dressed in all black with a thin mustache and a fencing sword. He was holding onto a woman of extreme beauty in a torn dress. Her dress was singed at the hem, and both were covered in sand. "I see you fell to the sand pits as well?"

"Guilty as charged." Kairi admitted, ashamed. Suddenly there was a loud popping noise.

"Step about two feet to the right, young miss." Roberts said to Kairi. Kairi did, puzzled, and a tongue of flame shot up from the ground where she had been standing.

"I can see why they call it the Fire Swamp!" Kairi yelped.

"I think it would be best if we go with you two. We're… outsiders, and we could use a bit of a helping hand getting through this place." Sora said to Roberts.

"The more the merrier!" Roberts replied, "And as you are my traveling companion, you may call me Westy!"

"Is there anything else about the Fire Swamps we should know about?" Kairi asked.

"Well, there are the ROUS's but I don't think they exist." Westy replied. Just then, a huge rat the size of a pig shot right at him. Westy's sword flew out of his hand and he struggled under the rat's weight. Whenever he reached for his sword, the rat bit him. He had been bitten on his shoulder and on his chest when he grabbed a knife and pushed it right up into the rodent's chest.

"Rodents of Unusual Size? You have got to be kidding me." Sora said as Westy picked himself up off the ground.

"Sadly, no." Westy said, walking on.

"Riku, get the shuttle and follow us, but don't let anyone see it. We don't need sudden proof that 'god' is really a hunk of metal." Sora whispered to his silver-haired friend.

"Right." Riku agreed.

112233112233

Elsewhere, Just Outside the Fire Swamps

Maleficent smirked at the group of Heartless Rodents she had just obtained. Her new accomplice, the Horned King stood behind her. Next to him stood Hades, lord of the undead, Cruella DeVille, a "cruel devil" of a woman known for wearing any animal part, and Negaduck, a strange yellow-clothed duck with a severe knack for destruction and a known loathing of cute lost little bunnies.

"I say we just drop a bomb on the place and blow the whole thing up!" Negaduck yelled.

"But that would ruin all the animal skins!" Cruella whined.

"Good riddance, especially if they're bunnies."

"But bunnies look so good on me, wouldn't you agree, Maleficent?" Cruella asked.

"Silence or I'll take your heart and feed it to the dogs." Maleficent threatened. A small group of Rabid Dog Heartless perked up and began to pant happily nearby. Cruella winced and dismissed them into the forest.

"They're mine, remember?" She pointed out to Maleficent.

"Indeed." She replied.

"With all due respect, wouldn't it have been easier to just have summoned up some undead warriors from the Black Cauldron?" The Horned King asked Maleficent.

"Have I not answered this question hundreds of times? You get to use all the undead you like, but I prefer Heartless, thank you." Maleficent replied.

"I still say we bomb it. I'll provide the bomb!" Negaduck yelled, bulling out a cartoonish bomb.

"How you manage to keep at that stuff in your cape is a total mystery to me." Cruella remarked.

"I am a cartoon, miss know-it-all." Negaduck said, holding the bomb out threateningly.

"This gets so annoying." Maleficent said, shaking her head.

112233112233

The Edge of the Woods

Sora, Kairi, Riku, Westy and Buttercup, the princess Westy had been dragging behind, came out of the woods and saw twenty armed men on horses with full armor. "I take it this does not bode well." Sora said, putting his hands in the air.

A/N: Flamberge: Thank you, the few of you who actually read my story. If you do, please leave a review and tell people you know about this story for two reasons.

1: I want more opinions on how my story is doing. I mean Mr. Tornado no offence in any way, but I just want more opinions on how my story is progressing.

2: I'll give you a box of cookies. That's right, not just one, but a whole box. When an author is desperate, his fans win!

As such, I think it would be best if this fic goes on hiatus until more people catch onto my story. If you like it, give a holler, if you hate it, tell me why. Please respect my decision, and good night until I start up again. (That's right, the cliffhanger is meant to give you some incentive.)

P.S: If you have a story, I'd be happy to review it. Just review me.

P.P.S: Laredo Tornado's a great writer, and he get like twenty reviews per chapter. I will start at below his level of reviews.

P.P.P.S: Princess Bride's a kick-butt movie. It's the world they're in, and if you haven't watched it, I demand you go see it!


	17. Chapter 14: The Bad Guy Chapter

Chapter 14: The Bad Guy Chapter!

The Villain turned the wheel of the Vault after the peg inside got out of the way and tried to get inside the Vault. Nothing happened. Stunned, he tried again. Still nothing. _Two bolts? This is interesting. Well, there are an infinite number of possibilities, so I'd better get started… 111… no… 112… no… ah well._ As he had expected, a printed piece of paper from the ever-mysterious X printed itself out of the Vault door.

_Greetings once again_

_If you are reading this, no doubt you've turned the eight key and opened the first bolt. You only have one more, and I'm here to help you, as always. The final combination is six numbers. Together, they add up to the number 108, and they've been known to save worlds. Remember; turn the dial around twice to the right before entering the numbers!_

_Yours truly,_

_X_

The Villain threw the paper away in disgust. "Great."

112233112233

The upper levels of the Worlds Museum

The Joiner sighed. He was sprawled out on his bed in the manager's office. He didn't understand how he could be unhappy; he had everything a guy could want. A job as museum manager that paid a million dollars a day, his own private army, respect in the scientific community, and a genius intellect, so why did he feel like something was still missing? So he'd failed to acquire Radiant Garden, big deal! It wasn't the end of the world or anything. _I killed two people, including a girl. Guys aren't supposed to even hit girls, let alone stab them in the chest_

_You had to._

_Did I honestly need to? I could've just cut her arm off or something… besides, I liked her._

_Define that, please._

_Why I had you grafted into my mind, I'll never know. And if you must know, I thought she was kind of cute._

_CUTE? You're telling me that my block on your hormones isn't working? Sh-_

_Remember, you promised not to swear when I agreed to the contract._

_Bloody hell, man, you can't slip now! We're about to reveal our side into the war, and you can't lead military command if you're fantasizing about screwing some scantily-clad victim who you had every right to kill!_

_I'm sure she didn't think I had the right._

_That doesn't matter! What matters is that she's dead, and I'm not about to let you commit necrophilia!_

_Shut up, voice._

_With pleasure._

112233112233

The House

The leader of Organization XV sighed. The Villain had taken yet another world, and was working on cracking the Disney Vault that was his by right! Things were getting out of hand, and someone would soon make the first move, that was certain, but who would it be? Both the rogues and the Magi had aligned themselves with the keyblade bearers, and Xehanort and Ansem were planning god-knows-what with their Heartless.

The table was set. Today, the leader of Organization XV would make his first move, and it would be against the Magi!

The screen in front of him crackled to life and Xaxel's face appeared in it. "Sir, I've obtained some information that may be of use to you."

"Really? What is it, then?" the leader replied.

"For one, Maleficent has returned, and two, the Villain's halfway through with the Vault." Xaxel informed, smirking.

"Good job. Go to Floren next, and I'll give you the location of something valuable to you." The leader replied.

"With pleasure." Xaxel replied, cutting the connection.

"Maleficent, huh? I might be able to work this to my advantage."

112233112233

Radiant Garden laboratory 8, hidden level

Xehanort looked upon his equipment with pride. "If only Ansem could see me now." Everything had been scrubbed and restored to fully operational working order. Heartless Janitors scrubbed up the floors, throwing the dust to the sleeping Chernabog in the far corner, where it was burned and contributed to the demon's reawakening. "This is great!" he squealed.

"Sir, we have an intruder trying to get in the southwest entrance." One of his human guards said.

"Then blast him apart!" Xehanort growled viciously, "Then buy yourself something nice!" he finished, giving the man 400 munny and a lollipop.

"Yes, sir." The guard said, shuffling away nervously.

"Well, I'm off to take a hot bath! If anyone comes in, blast them into bits, understand?" Xehanort said, walking away.

"What happened to the vicious killer we used to know?" one of the guards asked another after Xehanort had left.

"Well, the regeneration spell he set for all of us backfired, and it slightly altered his mental state." The other replied.

"A little?" the younger guard replied.


	18. TBC

To be continued…

Sorry folks, but it's been so long since I last updated this story, I can't remember where I wanted to go with it or the characters I wanted to use. Thusly, I will start a take 2 of this story. Watch for it!


	19. My New Story

My New Story!

It's oh so creatively titled Kingdom Hearts III: The End of the World Take 2. It's a lot darker, with a more matured style of writing. (Note: Not MATURE as in the rating, it's still T) If you liked this story, please read and review my new one! (And I know some of you did…)


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